World of Warcraft has continued to decline in popularity and the design team has consistently tried to make the game play easier to encourage more players to join. This watering-down has consistently driven dedicated gamers away from the content and encouraged younger, less mature and many times, more annoying players to the game. This, in turn, has driven more players away.

Many changes that have made the game easier to play have removed some of the complex requirements for success. For example:

• removal of the subtle talent tree system that allowed a large permutation of talents, allowing characters to be unique within their "spec"
• removal of the "expertise" for weapons that required that you use a weapon in order to get better at it and "miss" less often
• lowering the level limits required for the use of attack pets for hunters
• unlimited ammo for ranged weapons
• loss of a wand slot
• no requirement for soul shards for warlocks
• loss of requirement to have four people present to summon and enslave a abyssal demon (Warlock)
• Addition of a "permanent" water elemental for Mages
• Loss of quests for Warlock/Paladin mounts
• Loss of demon quests for Warlocks
• No more class-related quests
• Use of reagents is gone
• Fewer differences between classes do not encourage players to seek help from other players (mages, rogues and death knights can heal, for instance)
• Loss of the use and requirements for relics and idols
• Loss of the need to carry totems
• Less requirement for totems
• Less requirement to use other professions for materials, gear and enhancements, especially with the use of the garrison

These, and other changes have made game play easier and smoother for new players, but have removed much of the complexity that appeals to serious gamers.

Return to a more complex gameplay would bring serious gamers back. Perhaps making the first 20 levels (the "free" levels) easier in some way would still provide an entrance experience for new players, while ramping up the complexity and intensity of the game at the higher levels would support the needs of the serious gamer to be challenged.

Make World of Warcraft COMPLEX, again!